These women are the future of TV and cinema

Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott, Myha’la Herrold, Thuso Mbedu, Whitney Peak and Rain Spencer are starring in some of the most exciting projects on screens big and small over the coming months.

Culture

Words: Craig McLean
Photography: Luis Sanchis8th September 2022

Taken from the new print issue of THE FACE. Get your copy here.

Art imitating life. The comedic power of viral tweets. Surviving “hundreds” of child-actor auditions. The tao of Gossip Girl (2021 edition). Faith in drama as a tool for change. Mike Myers’ sweary and unsavoury character Fat Bastard. For the six teen- and twenty-something acting talents gathered on the following pages, inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes.

Beaming in from apartments and studios in New York and Los Angeles, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott, Myha’la Herrold, Thuso Mbedu, Whitney Peak and Rain Spencer are a diamond half-dozen starring in some of the most exciting projects on screens big and small over the coming months.

They are: the lead in an Apple TV+ crime series about a shooting in Central Park (she’s the victim, too)… Three stars from the bonkers-brilliant ensemble cast of satirical slasher flick Bodies Bodies Bodies… A cult comedy actor featuring alongside Lily-Rose Depp and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye in music industry fable The Idol, aka what-Sam-Euphoria-Levinson-did-next…

And then, also… The breakout talent from Industry, the BBC/HBO’s icily-cool London-set banking-and-wanking drama… The right-hand (and right-machete) to a warrior queen in The Woman King… A 19-year-old going toe-to-toe with Bette Midler in the eagerly-awaited sequel to Hocus Pocus… A newcomer having to convincingly portray a meth-head (no, she didn’t go Meth-od)…

Acting is “euphoric, a flow state where you feel like you’re firing on all cylinders,” says Wonders. “I was able to turn the misery into something positive for myself,” reveals Sennott. “I’m drawn to parts that are these snappy, snarky, deadpan, sarcastic, smart characters. All of those things do not live inside of me,” acknowledges Herrold.

“I told my grandmother that I’m not studying medicine at university [but] drama. She didn’t talk to me for about a month,” admits Mbedu. “I guess I’m on a reboot kick, huh?” muses Peak. “I really looked up to the acting class kids. They were 18 but they were superstars!” says Spencer.

These are the worlds of Chase, Rachel, Myha’la, Thuso, Whitney and Rain – the future of TV and cinema. Let’s talk to them and see what makes them tick, shall we?